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Ruyi Rouge Shop
"Is this for real!?"
Xing Ruyi exclaimed as she woke up from a nightmare. The moonlight shone brightly on her bed, and she had no idea what time it was.
"How strange, why did I have such a bizarre dream? If that were true, I would really become an immortal monster."
Xing Ruyi turned over and looked at the moonlight outside the window, pondering about the fox, Yin Yuan, and Old Beggar Uncle. She wondered how they were doing now.
At that time, since Yunxi was still around, she hadn't been able to inquire about Yin Yuan's condition with the fox. Now that she thought about it, she felt guilty in her heart and found it even harder to fall asleep.
Just as Xing Ruyi began to let her thoughts wander, a very light knocking sound suddenly echoed, as if someone outside was testing the waters. First there was one knock, then two, three, and soon the knocks became more frequent.
Xing Ruyi frowned in annoyance and was about to get up to check when the knocking suddenly stopped. Then came a sweet voice: "Ruyi, are you there? Could you please open the door for Xi'er?"
Xi'er!
Xing Ruyi sat up abruptly. Could it be that what she had been thinking about during the day had manifested into a dream of Xi'er's ghost?
Recalling the tragic state described by Yunxi regarding Xi'er, Xing Ruyi felt a pang of sympathy. She listened carefully and noticed movement outside the door, so she quietly got out of bed and went to open the door.
At that moment, a voice from outside called out: "Who dares to intrude upon my Ruyi Rouge shop at night?"
Xing Ruyi opened the door just in time to see Xi'er fleeing in panic. She was extremely beautiful but did not conform to the general aesthetic standards of the Golden Tang Dynasty.
“Deer Lady, there's no need to chase her; I think I know who she is.”
“The shopkeeper knows?” Deer Lady raised an eyebrow, glancing at the lingering ghostly aura in the courtyard.
“She just introduced herself,” Xing Ruyi stretched lazily. “Her name is Xi'er!”
“Xi'er? The one from the Luo family?” Deer Lady displayed a look of further confusion. “It seems the efficiency of the Underworld is getting worse by the day. How long has Old Ghost been dead, yet he still wanders the world? Wandering is one thing, but to come to our Rouge shop without any notice—does she think we’re few in number?”
“In my opinion, this matter may not be related to the Underworld.”
“Whether it is or not, the shopkeeper can just call a ghost up to ask. If this matter has nothing to do with the Underworld, then let’s consider Aunt Sheng’s earlier words as nonsense. If it does relate to the Underworld, I’ll have to ask them what they mean by this.”
“Aunt Sheng, don’t be angry; let Fox Demon call a ghost up to inquire.”
Xing Ruyi said, pulling out the long-unused Ghost Card.
“I also find tonight's events somewhat suspicious. Even if this Xi'er is an unyielding spirit, she should be entangled with the Luo family. Why would she suddenly come to our Rouge shop? Moreover, she could even call out my name. I don’t believe there’s any connection between me and this young lady Xi'er.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, a wisp of black smoke emerged from the corner of the wall, and an elderly Ghost Messenger staggered out from the smoke, coughing uncontrollably as he walked.
When he reached Xing Ruyi, his slightly hunched back bent down: “The ghost greets you, my lord!”
“Ghost Messenger, you’re too polite!” Given the other’s age, Xing Ruyi spoke with added courtesy.
“Considering your age, you must have been working here for quite some time, right?”
"Replying to you, my lord, it is neither more nor less, just exactly 00 years."
"Then do you recognize Xi'er?"
"Xi'er? Are you referring to the unnamed concubine from the Luo family?"
"Exactly her! I wonder if Lord Yama has any knowledge of her past?"
"I do, I do. The one who went to fetch her back then was Old Ghost."
"Then did Xi'er die as others say, poisoned by Old Lady Luo?"
"Yes and no!" Old Ghost shook his head.
"What do you mean by 'yes and no'? What does 'no' mean?"
"My lord, since you have just arrived here, it's normal not to be clear about some matters. Old Ghost simply states that while it is true that Master Luo and Old Lady Luo had a poor relationship, it is not true that he had deep feelings for this concubine named Xi'er."
Xing Ruyi let out a light sigh.
"In that case, Xi'er's death must have some hidden circumstances!"
"It cannot be said to be mysterious; it can only be said that this girl was unfortunate, trusting those she should not have trusted, and giving her heart to someone unworthy."
Old Ghost appeared quite sentimental.
"The Matriarch of the Luo family indeed poisoned Xi'er’s food and did not want her to give birth to the child in her womb, but she never intended to take Xi'er’s life. The one who truly wished for Xi'er not to live is someone else. This person switched the medicine that the Matriarch had prepared for Xi'er."
"This person, it can't be Doctor Yun, right?"
"Doctor Yun?" Old Ghost looked at Xing Ruyi with confusion. "It's no wonder you would think of him. Indeed, given his past with the Matriarch and his medical expertise, he does have more suspicion than others. However, in this matter concerning Xi'er, Doctor Yun is innocent.
He merely happened to learn the truth and was coerced by someone who wanted to protect the Matriarch, unable to reveal what he knew, and in his depression, chose to retreat from the world."
"Mr. Ghost Messenger's words remind me of someone who is most likely involved," Xing Ruyi said, looking into Old Ghost's green eyes and uttering three words: "Old Master Luo!"
"You are truly clever! That's right, the one who really caused the deaths of Xi'er and her child is not the Matriarch but this seemingly devoted yet calculating Old Master Luo.
Perhaps he initially saved Xi'er and brought her home out of good intentions, but human hearts are fickle. Especially when he discovered that Xi'er had feelings for him and that the Matriarch's attitude towards Xi'er shifted from indifference to hostility, he thought he could use Xi'er for his own purposes.
He pampered Xi'er to provoke the Matriarch and neglected her only to force her hand. Then, when the Matriarch attempted to kill Xi'er, he would catch her in the act and use it as leverage against her and even threaten the entire Luo family behind her.
However, Old Master Luo calculated everything except for one thing: he never anticipated that the Matriarch had secretly built a hidden chamber in the ancestral hall. He also did not expect that she would lure Xi'er into that chamber to act against her. As a result, he was a step too late and spent years unable to find Xi'er’s whereabouts, causing his carefully laid plans to fall apart."
"Given all this, I realize I may have underestimated this Old Master Luo earlier; he truly is a great benefactor!"
"Human nature is inherently evil; while this statement may not be entirely accurate, those who often do good deeds usually do so because they have previously committed many acts that troubled their conscience."
Old Ghost straightened his hunched back slightly and continued, "As for Old Master Luo, he probably regretted his actions afterward. That’s why he discovered the hidden chamber in the ancestral hall but remained silent about Xi’er and her child inside. Yet how can the devil within him be quelled by a moment of good intention? It only lies dormant until greater desires arise."
Old Ghost then quietly retreated back into the corner of the wall and faded away.
"The truth that Old Ghost knows is just this: although the Underworld is not a realm and there are no so-called opportunities, matters concerning ghosts cannot be easily spoken of to outsiders. You carry the Ghost Card, so Old Ghost cannot hide it, but what can be said is limited to this. Old Ghost has departed; take care, my lord."
Xing Ruyi intended to thank Old Ghost, but she did not expect Old Ghost to leave so quickly. By the time she opened her mouth, not even a wisp of smoke was visible.
Outside the bedroom of Lord Luo, two wisps of black smoke were entwined together.
"Shh! Don't wake him!"
One of the wisps of smoke faintly took on a human form and deliberately lowered its voice, clearly afraid that the person inside would hear.
The other wisp of smoke playfully said, "Sister, let me play for a while! I haven't seen a living person in ages!"
"If you want a living person, there are plenty in this mansion. You know I need him to be useful. What if you ruin him?"
The playful wisp huffed lightly and also transformed into a human shape. "Then promise me that after the matter is done, you'll leave this person for me to play with."
"Alright, alright, I promise you. It's not like I haven't seen heartless people before; look how happy you are. Come on, let's go back. After tomorrow's festivities are over, I'll bring you here again. At that time, you can play however you like, okay?"
"Is that really true, sister?"
"Really, really—more real than gold and silver."
With that, both wisps of black smoke dispersed their human forms and vanished.
The Luo family courtyard returned to a deathly silence once more.
In fact, Lord Luo had long been awake, or rather, since Lady Luo and Grandma passed away, he had hardly slept at all.
Now, wrapped in his blanket, he was already cold to the touch, shivering all over. He didn't understand why he could hear such a conversation, but he was certain that the two voices were definitely not human.
At this moment, reflecting on the conversation he had just heard only deepened his fear.
Could it be that there really are ghosts in this world?
He slowly pulled down the blanket and cautiously peeked out with one eye, but then half out of guilt and half out of fear, he quickly shrank back.
If there are ghosts in this world, and they are here looking for him, what should he do...
The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Thus, Lord Luo once again stealthily peeked out to look at the door, wishing to rush out but too afraid to actually do so. The unknown outside the door filled him with even more dread.
At the same time, the blanket provided him with a sense of security. He curled up tightly in bed, wrapping himself snugly in the blanket, closing his eyes and repeatedly reassuring himself that this must be some prank by the servants in the manor. If only it would get bright soon; once it was light out, everything would be over.
As he thought about this, Lord Luo's consciousness gradually blurred. Just as he was drifting between sleep and wakefulness, he suddenly heard a series of urgent knocks on the door...
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